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Abu-d
Dardaa
Early in the morning, Abu-d Dardaa awoke
and went straight to his idol which he kept in the best
part of his house. He greeted it and made obeisance to it.
Then he anointed it with the best perfume from his large
shop and put on it a new raiment of beautiful silk which a
merchant had brought to him the day before from Yemen.
When the sun was high in the sky he left
his house for his shop. On that day the streets and alleys
of Yathrib were crowded with the followers of Muhammad
returning from Badr. With them were several prisoners of
war. Abu-d Dardaa surveyed the crowds and then went up to
a Khazraji youth and asked about the fate of Abdullah ibn
Rawahah.
"He was put through the most severe
tests in the battle," "but he emerged
safely..."
Abu-d Dardaa was clearly anxious about
his close friend, Abdullah ibn Rawahah. Everyone in
Yathrib knew the bond of brotherhood which existed between
the two men from the days of Jahiliyyah, before the coming
of Islam to Yathrib. When Islam came to the city, Ibn
Rawahah embraced it but Abu-d Dardaa rejected it. This
however did not rupture the relationship between the two.
Abdullah kept on visiting Abu-d Dardaa and tried to make
him! see the virtues, the benefits and the excellence of
Islam. But with every passing day, while Abu-d Dardaa
remained a mushrik, Abdullah felt more sad and concerned.
Abu-d Dardaa arrived at his shop and sat
cross-legged on a high chair. He began trading-buying and
selling and giving instructions to his assistants unaware
of what was going on at his house. For at that very time,
Abdullah ibn Rawahah had gone to the house determined on a
course of action. There, he saw that the main gate was
open. Umm ad-Dardaa was in the courtyard and he said to
her:
"As-salaamu alayki - Peace be unto
you, servant of God."
"Wa alayka-s salaam - And unto you
be peace, O brother of Abu-d Dardaa."
"Where is Abu-d Dardaa?" he
asked. "He has gone to his shop. It won't be tong
before he returns." "Would you allow me to come
in?" "Make yourself at home," she said and
went about busying herself with her household chores and
looking after her children.
Abdullah ibn Rawahah went to the room
where Abu-d Dardaa kept his idol. He took out an adz which
he had brought with him and began destroying the idol
while saying:
"Isn't everything batil which is
worshipped besides Allah?"
When the idol was completely smashed, he
left the house. Abu-d Dardaa's wife entered the room
shortly afterwards and was aghast at what she saw. She
smote her cheeks in anguish and said: "You have
brought ruin to me, Ibn Rawahah." When Abu-d Dardaa
returned home, he saw his wife sitting at the door of the
room where he kept his idol. She was weeping loudly and
she looked absolutely terrified. "What's wrong with
you?" he asked.
"Your brother Abdullah ibn Rawahab
visited us in your absence and did with your idols what
you see." Abu-d Dardaa looked at the broken idol and
was horrified. He was consumed with anger and determined
to take revenge. Before long however his anger subsided
and thoughts of avenging the idol disappeared. Instead he
reflected on what had happened and said to himself:
"If there was any good in this
idol, he would have defended himself against any
injury."
He then went straight to Abdullah and
together they went to the Prophet, peace be on him. There
he announced his acceptance of Islam. He was the last
person in his district to become a Muslim.
From this time onwards, Abu-d Dardaa
devoted himself completely to Islam. Belief in God and His
Prophet animated every fibre of his being. He deeply
regretted every moment he had spent as a mushrik and the
opportunities he had lost to do good. He realized how much
his friends had learnt about siam in the preceding two or
three years, how much of the Quran they had memorized and
the opportunities they had to devote themselves to God and
His Prophet. He made up his mind to expend every effort,
day and night to try to make up for what he had missed.
Ibadah occupied his days and his nights. His search for
knowledge was restless. Much time he spent memorizing the
words of the Quran and trying to understand the profundity
of its message. When he saw that business and trade
disturbed the sweetness of his ibadah and kept him away
from the circles of knowledge, he reduced his involvement
without hesitation or regret. Someone asked him why he did
this and he replied:
"I was a merchant before my pledge
to the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him
peace. When I became a Muslim, I wanted to combine trade
(tijarah) and worship (ibadah) but I did not achieve what
I desired. So I abandoned trade and inclined towards
ibadah.
"By Him in whose hand is the soul
of Abu-d Dardaa, what I want to have is a shop near the
door of the masjid so that I would not miss any Salat with
the congregation. Then I shall sell and buy and make a
modest profit every day."
"I am not saying," said Abu-d
Dardaa to his questioner, "that Allah Great and
Majestic is He has prohibited trade, but I want to be
among those whom neither trade nor selling distracts form
the remembrance of God ."
Abu-d Dardaa did not only become less
involved in trade but he abandoned his hitherto soft and
luxurious life-style. He ate only what was sufficient to
keep him upright and he wore clothes that was simple and
sufficient to cover his body.
Once a group of Muslims came to spend
the night with him. The night was bitterly cold. He gave
them hot food which they welcomed. He himself then went to
sleep but he did not give them any blankets. They became
anxious wondering how they were going to sleep on such a
cold night. Then one of them said: "I will go and
talk to him." "Don't bother him," said
another.
However, the man went to Abu-d Dardaa
and stood at the door of his room. He saw Abu-d Dardaa
lying down. His wife was sitting near to him. They were
both wearing light clothing which could not protect them
from the cold and they had no blankets. Abu-d Dardaa said
to his guest: "If there was anything we would have
sent it to you."
During the caliphate of Umar, Umar
wanted to appoint Abu-d Dardaa as a governor in Syria.
Abu-d Dardaa refused. Umar persisted and then Abu-d Dardaa
said:
"If you are content that I should
go to them to teach them the Book of their Lord and the
Sunnah of their Prophet and pray with them, I shall
go."
Umar agreed and Abu-d Dardaa left for
Damascus. There he found the people immersed in luxury and
soft living. This appalled him. He called the people to
the masjid and spoke to them:
"O people of Damascus! You are my
brethren in religion, neighbors who live together and
helpers one to another against enemies. "O people of
Damascus! What is it that prevents you from being
affectionate towards me and responding to my advice while
I do not seek anything from you. Is it right that I see
your learned ones departing (from this world) while the
ignorant among you are not learning. I see that you
incline towards such things which Allah has made you
answerable for and you abandon what He has commanded you
to do.
"Is it reasonable that I see you
gathering and hoarding what you do not eat, and erecting
buildings in which you do not live, and holding out hopes
for things you cannot attain.
"Peoples before you have amassed
wealth, made great plans and had high hopes. But it was
not long before what they had amassed was destroyed, their
hopes dashed and their houses turned into graves. Such
were the people of Aad, O people of Damascus. They filled
the earth with possessions and children.
"Who is there who will purchase
from me today the entire legacy of Aad for two
dirhams?"
The people wept and their sobs could be
heard from outside the masjid. From that day, Abu-d Dardaa
began to frequent the meeting places of the people of
Damascus. He moved around in their market-places,
teaching, answering questions and trying to arouse anyone
who had become careless and insensitive. He used every
opportunity and every occasion to awaken people, to set
them on the right path.
Once he passed a group of people
crowding around a man. They began insulting and beating
the man. He came up to them and said: "What's the
matter?" "This is a man who has committed a
grave sin," they replied.
"What do you think you would do if
he had fallen into a well?" asked Abu-d Dardaa.
"Wouldn't you try to get him out?"
"Certainly," they said. "Don't insult him
and don't beat him. Instead admonish him and make him
aware of the consequences of what he had done. Then give
praise to God Who has preserved you from falling into such
a sin." "Don't you hate him?" they asked
Abu-d Dardaa.
"I only detest what he had done and
if he abandons such practice, he is my brother." The
man began to cry and publicly announced his repentance.
A youth once came up to Abu-d Dardaa and
said: "Give me advice, O companion of the Messenger
of God," and Abu-d Dardaa said to him:
"My son, remember Allah in good
times and He will remember you in times of misfortune.
"My son, be knowledgeable, seek
knowledge, be a good listener and do not be ignorant for
you will be ruined.
"My son, let the masjid be your
house for indeed I heard the Messenger of God say: The
masjid is the house of every God-conscious person and God
Almighty has guaranteed serenity, comfort, mercy and
staying on the path leading to His pleasure, to those for
whom masjids are their houses."
On another occasion, there was a group
of people sitting in the street, chatting and looking at
passers-by. Abu-d Dardaa came up to them and said:
"My sons, the monastery of a Muslim
man is his house in which he controls himself and lowers
his gaze. Beware of sitting in market-places because this
fritters away time in vain pursuits."
While Abu-d Dardaa was in Damascus,
Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, its governor, asked him to give
his daughter in marriage to his (Muawiyah's) son, Yazid.
Abu-d Dardaa did not agree. Instead he gave his daughter
in marriage to a young man from among the poor whose
character and attachment to Islam pleased him. People
heard about this and began talking and asking: Why did
Abu-d Dardaa refuse to let his daughter marry Yazid? The
question was put to Abu-d Dardaa himself and he said:
"I have only sought to do what is good for
ad-Dardaa." That was his daughter's name.
"How?" enquired the person.
"What would you think of ad-Dardaa
if servants were to stand in her presence serving her and
if she were to find herself in palaces the glamour of
which dazzled the eyes? What would become of her religion
then?"
While Abu-d Dardaa was still in Syria,
the Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab came on an inspection tour
of the region. One night he went to visit Abu-d Dardaa at
his home. There was no light in the house. Abu-d Dardaa
welcomed the Caliph and sat him down. The two men
conversed in the darkness. As they did so, Umar felt Abu-d
Dardaa's "pillow" and realized it was an
animal's saddle. He touched the place where Abu-d Dardaa
lay and knew it was just small pebbles. He also felt the
sheet with which he covered himself and was astonished to
find it so flimsy that it couldn't possibly protect him
from the cold of Damascus. Umar asked him:
"Shouldn't I make things more
comfortable for you? Shouldn't I send something for
you?"
"Do you remember, Umar," said
Abu-d Dardaa, "a hadith which the Prophet, may God
bless him and grant him peace, told us?" "What
is it?" asked Umar. "Did he not say: Let what is
sufficient for anyone of you in this world be like the
provisions of a rider?" "Yes," said Umar.
"And what have we done after this, O Umar?"
asked Abu-d Dardaa.
Both men wept no doubt thinking about
the vast riches that had come the way of Muslims with the
expansion of Islam and their preoccupation with amassing
wealth and worldly possessions. With deep sorrow and
sadness, both men continued to reflect on this situation
until the break of dawn.
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